


Fearscape

by DetectiveOpossum



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gamer AU - Freeform, Gaming, Gaming AU, Gay Richie Tozier, Horror, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, MMORPGs, No one dies but they might die in the game, No one lives in Derry, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Richie really out here being a disaster in this game, Survival Horror, They all play an mmorpg together, They're all kind of scattered all over, but its also not a chat fic, chat fic, gamer - Freeform, scratch that, there are just a few chat fic elements, they do die in the game plenty of times but not irl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:15:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25236049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetectiveOpossum/pseuds/DetectiveOpossum
Summary: Fearscape is the latest hot MMORPG. It's survival horror based on fears that has taken the world by storm.Richie Tozier is a 23-year-old Radio Show Host from LA who spends his time being funny on Twitter and doing open mic comedy nights. When he isn't being a comedian, he spends nights on Fearscape. It's his favorite part of the night. He's been obsessed for months and plays with his only friend.Sometimes, he just wishes he wasn't so lonely.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Patricia Blum Uris/Stanley Uris
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	1. The Brawler

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Welcome to my first IT fic, we in this now B)
> 
> A little bit of info about the MMORPG in the fic:  
> -It isn't real (Though I would love if it was)  
> -It is heavily based on a variety of games. DBD & Identity V are the most prominent with the language I use. It also has influences from games like Dead Island & Free Realms (just to name a couple)  
> -It has a suggested play order (In order of each section; The difficulty spikes the higher you go) but you can go in any order. Technically you could start playing and immediately go to the latest released section (it would just be difficult)  
> -When you die, you get sent to the border of the last section you entered. There is no fast travel (besides to your friends, you can travel to them to team up, but you're unable to fast travel to towns you discover)  
> -All the Loser's are between sectors 4-6 (They've all been playing the game for a while)  
> -I have a majority of the fears in the game currently mapped out, but I'm always open to suggestions of new ones (as long as they are tangible!)
> 
> You can always ask clarification questions in the comments! I can do my best to explain things further
> 
> Enjoy your read <3

Richie liked to think that he had it made in life, and truly he did. Every morning to early afternoon, he drove 20 minutes into the city to host a show on the radio. People tuned in every morning to hear _his voice_. People even liked him enough to show up to open mic comedy nights he did whenever he could and follow him on Twitter. Richie knew he was pretty lucky in that category. Most people weren’t able to work a job they enjoyed like that. It never felt like work to him, just running his mouth for hours. His job wasn’t even the best part of his days. The best part came when he finally got to slip on his gaming headphones and log into his latest obsession. Of course, Richie had always been a gamer. He practically lived in arcades more than he did his own house growing up. He was well acquainted with button mashers, fps, strategy games, puzzle games. Nothing could compare to Fearscape, though. 

He couldn’t exactly remember when he had found the game. It was an ambitious piece; A horror MMORPG based on fears. The world-building was intense and he had gotten hooked almost immediately. Every section of the map was based on a different fear and changed the gameplay. It took a little bit of time to get used to the new rules, but that just made it even more interesting. The game updated frequently, adding new quests, areas, and enemies. It even had different areas that you could specialize your character in to make it easier to group up with others and survive. Besides, the only friend he had played the game too.

Stan and Richie had started playing at seemingly the same time. Stan was a Support player who typed in the regional chat like a 50-year-old man, though Richie was pretty certain they were close in age. They had never actually spoken outside of Fearscape’s messaging service, nevermind heard each other’s voices. They just _clicked_ and worked together far better than Richie ever had with anyone at school. Richie saved Stan from a horde of enemies in the first section of the game and they had stuck together ever since. That was 6 months ago. Now they were a few sections further in the game, but nowhere close to the end.

Richie was elated when he sat down to log in for the day to find Stan already online. It was so rare to find him already in-game by the time Richie made it home from the station. They had just finished the 4th sector, Vampires, and were about to advance into the 5th, Spiders, the previous night. His knee bounced under his desk as he opened their chat. The game began to boot up in the background.

**beeptrashmouthbeep:** staaaniel 

**beeptrashmouthbeep:** wtf are you online so early for? :0 Is there an event

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** is it my birthday already

 _StanTheMan:_ I got off work extra early. I wanted to head back into Sector 4 and grab a few cosmetics.

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** lol ur gonna look like an edgelord

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** want me to fast travel to u or do u just wanna meet me at the border?

 _StanTheMan:_ Fast travel. Last time we tried to meet up, you got distracted and died. 

**beeptrashmouthbeep:** that was o n e time old man let me live 

_StanTheMan:_ Seen @ 4:23pm

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** u don’t have to flex your timezone on me smh

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** get ur shit done I wanna get eaten by giant spiders already

Richie tapped his fingers against his desk as Fearscape finally loaded up. His little avatar looked around in fear on the opening screen as he confirmed that he wanted to load into that character. Richie had gotten _extra_ lucky when he made his character. They happened to have enough cosmetics that it was practically a little version of himself, just significantly more bruised and battered. The clothing was ripped and dirty and there was always a look of panic on its face, but Richie loved the aesthetic of it all.

He already happened to be on the border of the two sectors when he got into the game. The borders were always Richie’s favorite part of the world to see. It was right where the different fears started to blend together. Both sectors were filled with heavy dark trees. Looking towards Sector 5 showed you spiderwebs and hidden red eyes staring at you from within the dark. Looking towards Sector 4 showed you dark winding paths to castle filled towns. Richie was so enamored by the world-building that he almost forgot to travel to Stan’s location. Stan’s avatar looked the same as it always did. His avatar had a slightly more timid stance, showing that he had more points in Support than anything else. Stan was also dressed like a tired stay-at-home dad, in a button-down, khakis, and a _fucking sweater_. He, of course, had the same disheveled appearance that Richie did. It only took seconds for Richie to start typing in the local chat. 

**beeptrashmouthbeep:** i am almost disappointed that you look the exact same

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** wat did u get

 _StanTheMan:_ I wanna get the hoarder achievement, so everything I could afford without risking not having any money to get healing items when we get fucked in the next sector.

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** we’re not gonna get totally fucked 

**beeptrashmouthbeep:** i grabbed a new rescue weapon last night so it’ll be easier to grab other players & those sexy sexy npcs from those creepy crawlies

 _StanTheMan:_ I hope you get eaten.

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** kinky

 _StanTheMan:_ Blocked.

Bringing it up reminded Richie that he actually had to equip the weapon. It was a grappling hook with what appeared to be a pretty decent range. He could grapple other players and drag them to him. Plus it probably did normally grappling hook stuff, like attaching to the environment. Richie was pretty sure he could damage enemies with it, but he had his close-range weapon if all the hook did was drag them closer. He hadn’t had the chance to do much research on it.

Unbeknownst to Stan, who usually liked learning about new Sectors as they encountered them, Richie had looked up a few coveted _tips & tricks_. Sector 5 wasn’t the first one to have chances for you to get killed in 1 hit, but it was significantly easier to get hit with them. Enemies could capture you in their webs and drag you towards them. If you didn’t manage to escape the attack, that was the end. Being attacked by other enemies would free you, and being rescued by other players. It wasn’t the most dangerous section in the game, but it did make plenty of Top 5 most annoying ones to get through. 

It took Richie running a few circles around Stan and capturing him once with the grappling hook to get them started on their extremely short journey to the border. Aeston was the town almost directly next to the border between sectors, which was fantastic given that the first town in Sector 5 was past the first layer of the forest. The local chat started to light up more as they got started into Sector 5. Fearscape offered a few different chat options. Local showed what people within a certain radius of your character were saying, as long as they were using that chat. Regional showed what people in your sector were saying, which was way more hectic. World was the most chaotic and, surprisingly, Richie didn’t really like clicking on the tab. That’s where most of the toxic players liked to make their home. Richie didn’t want to pause his movement to ask Stan any questions about what the plans were. It was too likely to get grabbed if they paused for too long, even though they hadn’t run into any enemies yet. There _was_ some kid going off in the chat about spider bite effects IRL. It was almost endearing, even if it meant that the name was probably gonna show up as dead in a few minutes. As the duo continued closer into the forest, two usernames started to slowly show up in the distance. 

Almost as if on cue, Richie could see a few spiders descending from the heavens ahead of them. Another spider bite fact was half sent before the two figures started to move again. From what it looked like, they were basic offense/defense players. Though, one appeared to be a brawler type and the other looked to have a shield, maybe a knight. Richie _knew_ a brawler would be hard to use in this Sector. He tapped a button on his keyboard to send a hotkey battle phrase. ‘I can see the killer!’ popped up above his mini-me’s head. It felt like a waste of exp to _not_ run to try and help the other pair out. Richie couldn’t see Stan’s avatar behind him, but he knew he was back there. Support oriented characters tended to have lower health and were better for backlines and healing. Richie was pretty sure that Stan had points in offense as well. The man had absolutely destroyed a lot of Witches in Sector 3. Richie felt his breath hitch as he saw two of the Spiders raise into its animation for the capturing animation. 

Logically, He should have thought a little bit more before tabbing to his grappling hook and taking aim on the brawler. The one-hit KO would really suck at the beginning, so timing had to be key. It was in the moment that he clicked the fire button that the shielded player moved ahead to block one of the Spider’s attacks. Richie watched as his hook attached to the brawler and dragged them directly into the other Spider’s waiting jaws. The killing animation of the Spider was _brutal_ , which was something Richie had actually been excited to see _except not when it was because he accidentally murdered another player._ Such was the life of a Rescue player. Sometimes you fuck up.

_StanTheMan:_ Oh my fucking god.

“Nice job, dipshit.” Richie muttered under his breath as he watched the shield player, who he could now fully identify as a Defense player, down one of the enemies. 

It was almost as if another player had read his mind as the local chat started blowing up with message after message. It was almost a little hard to focus on not getting caught in the attacks with all the moving in the chat. Richie already had focusing issues, so the minor distraction _really_ wasn’t doing him any favors. He waited until the three of them dispatched the remaining enemies to even begin to check them. The Defense player, CaptainBigBill, started to run back the direction that Richie and Stan had come from.

_GazeboEffect:_ Nice job, dipshit!

 _GazeboEffect:_ do you even fucking know how to play this fucking game

 _GazeboEffect:_ what kind of shit rescue player gets someone else fucking killed

 _GazeboEffect:_ learn to play fucking rescue or switch to a different class!!

 _GazeboEffect:_ or maybe actually do some research on the areas so you know what you’re gonna be facing

 _StanTheMan:_ It was an accident.

 _GazeboEffect:_ still!! Holy shit this is decently far into the game, how did you get this far playing like that

 _CaptainBigBill:_ I’ll be back to you in a few :) We’ll get them next time!

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** i do know how to play rescue thank u very much

 _GazeboEffect:_ well obviously you don’t! You fucking suck

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** no u

 _GazeboEffect:_ real fucking mature, what outdated joke book did you get that one out of?

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** ur mom told me it last night B)

 _GazeboEffect:_ Thanks Bill, I think I can see you in the distance

 _GazeboEffect:_ you know what trashmouth

 _GazeboEffect:_ since you know so much about this game, 1v1 me 

Richie let out a laugh. This kid was _furious_. Granted, he actually did feel really bad about getting them killed. The reactions were perfect though. Angry kids. Can’t beat them. Richie ran a circle around Stan and then started heading back. He was pretty sure there was an achievement for dueling every class specialization, and he hadn’t gotten close enough to any Offense players to even begin with them. 

**beeptrashmouthbeep:** lol ur on kid, i’ll follow ur friend to the border

 _StanTheMan:_ Oh my fucking god. Seriously, dude?

 _GazeboEffect:_ I’m not a fucking kid 

_GazeboEffect:_ you’re the one who acts like a child

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** i’m 23 lmaoooo

 _GazeboEffect:_ gross, we’re the same age and you act like that?

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** i mean u kinda act like u have a stick up ur ass so 

_GazeboEffect:_ You’re going down dipshit

The closer that Richie actually got to the border, the more nervous he actually started to get. He didn’t think he had ever seen a brawler now that he thought about it. The first Sector was Zombies, so it made it pretty difficult to pick any subcharactization that led to close combat. They were a rare breed of player. This meant that Richie realized he didn’t have the slightest idea of how to go about a duel with them. _GazeboEffect_. There had to be some sort of story behind that username. His leg bounced in even more anticipation as Gazebo’s character started to come into frame. Richie couldn’t help but notice that their avatar was actually kinda cute. They had sneakers, knee-high tube socks, short gym shorts, a zip-up jacket, and a bloody bandage on their cheek. Their outfit had the effect of being bloody rather than beat up, and it looked awesome. Richie had always considered getting some more bandage accessories for his character. All he had was a bandaid over his nose, which he put because of how many times he’s broken his nose out of _sheer stupidity_.

**beeptrashmouthbeep:** so what ruleste

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** set

 _GazeboEffect:_ Standard

 _GazeboEffect:_ we’re the same level so we can use the normal ones without it being tipped in either favor

 _GazeboEffect:_ Whoever gets the other’s health all the way down first is the winner

 _GazeboEffect:_ It’ll automatically heal both parties back to full at the end of the dual

 _GazeboEffect:_ So get ready to get your ass handed to you

**_GazeboEffect has invited you to a 1v1 duel. Accept?_ **

Richie made sure his melee weapon, a kickass metal bat, was equipped before tapping the Y key and beginning the duel.

It took no time for Richie to realize he had made a mistake. Gazebo was _fast_. Their character moved with what seemed like the speed of god. They had already gotten two hits in on Richie before he realized and moved his character in the opposite direction. He tried to keep himself a few steps back before spamming the attack button on his mouse. In all his years of gaming, attacking the enemy before they can attack you was always the best strategy. Unless, of course, the enemy was faster than you. He had barely gotten a hit in when Gazebo _fucking dodged the second attack_ and moved to the side of Richie’s character. He didn’t even know the last time that he saw someone actually dodge attacks. Distance would be the thing that would help him secure the win here, but he couldn’t switch to his hook. Not having any sort of ranged attack kind of made Richie regret being a Rescue main. Not really, but a little bit. He could see Stan and Bill’s avatars a little bit out of the duel range. It looked like they were fucking _trading items because of course, they were._ Just his luck.

Gazebo got another attack on him and Richie’s health hit the halfway mark. He was fucked. Richie moved his character back again and repositioned his hand to be able to tap a few buttons as he attacked. He had every single melee attack combo memorized. As soon as Gazebo tried to dodge his next melee, Richie turned his character and slammed one of the combos. He managed to hit a knockback one, so Gazebo was thankfully knocked back a few meters from him. He rolled one of his shoulders and started to run towards them once again. The end of Richie’s tongue was sticking out of his mouth in focus. The combo had knocked their health down a bit, not nearly as much as Richie’s was already. Gazebo continued to move and try to dodge his attacks. Their attempts weren’t as successful now that Richie had their playstyle down. Even then, Richie ended up being just a few hits away from losing by the time he got their health down to half. He was ready to try and get a good combo hit in, when Gazebo got one on Richie _instead_. Being a Rescue main, Richie didn’t know much about other combos. His non-attack ones mostly revolved around changing spots with people and taking damage. So, he was extra surprised when Gazebo’s attack gave him a temporary stun. Just long enough for the finishing blow of their duel. Richie threw his head back and groaned as his avatar crouched over in defeat and his screen declared GazeboEffect the winner of the duel.

_GazeboEffect:_ In your fucking face, man

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** a sore winner i see

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** offense players can stun? Wtf? That’s so cool

 _GazeboEffect:_ It’s an ability you can unlock for some of your combos as a brawler

 _GazeboEffect:_ maybe you would know that if you looked into the game more

Richie watched as his avatar returned to a standing position. Bill and Stan came back over to join them. They didn’t move from each other’s sides, though. Richie started to type a response to Gazebo when Stan started messaging.

_StanTheMan:_ Since this sector is kind of tough, Bill and I think it might be a good idea for all four of us to team up.

 _StanTheMan:_ Especially since we all have different character types.

 _CaptainBigBill:_ Having a support AND a rescue who probably won’t get us killed again will make this whole section a whole lot easier :D

 _CaptainBigBill:_ we can always go our separate ways at the end

 _CaptainBigBill:_ I’m Bill; he/him

 _StanTheMan:_ My name’s Stan. I use he/him pronouns too.

Richie looked over everyone’s avatars. He hadn’t worked with Defense or Offense players before. He, very obvious to himself now, didn’t really know how either of them worked. It could be a learning experience.

**beeptrashmouthbeep:** you are a pretty damn good brawler

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** i’m willing to put our deep seeded rivalry aside to get through these fucking spiders

 **beeptrashmouthbeep:** i’m richie B) he/him pronouns pwease

 _GazeboEffect:_ deep-seated rivalry?? You got me fucking killed and sent to the border and i told you to put your money where your mouth in

 _GazeboEffect:_ and then i rocked your shit

 _GazeboEffect:_ fine having a support would be really awesome right now

Richie watched as a friend request from both Bill and Gazebo popped up on his screen. Finally, more than one friend in this game.

  
_GazeboEffect:_ I’m Eddie, he/him


	2. Empty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie logs off for the night and goes about his usual schedule. Also, he learns what Discord is and how to use it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lil Richie centric & what goes on in his head, so I really hope you enjoy :D It gets a little sad? Richie's a lil sad forgive him & me for making them get discord. It is kind of essential to gamers.
> 
> TW: Richie has some pretty clear anxiety that's present throughout the chapter

Richie couldn’t remember the last time he had had so much fun playing Fearscape. He had fun every time he played it, technically, but this was different. It was always just him and Stan playing, and usually getting overwhelmed by enemies. Good fun, but frustrating when it took forever to get to the next safe zone. Sector 5 was a doozy to try and get through. Richie finally got to see what the Spider 1 hit KO animation looked like up close when he swapped himself for Bill. That had been the last thing he had done before logging off for the night. It was still decently early, 6 pm. Time had flown while playing. Sure, he normally played for 5+ hours anyway, but it didn’t feel like that this time. 

When Richie finally grabbed his phone and flopped back into his bed with his cat, he noticed how many notifications he had missed. At least 5 texts from Steve. 2 texts and a missed call from Heather. A call and a voicemail from his _mom_ . Richie couldn’t help but let out a groan and rollover. He smushed his face, glasses and all, into his cat’s side. She let out a soft _merp_ and rolled over to bat at his head. 

“You’re always good company, Mills. Always know how to cheer me up.” He grumbled into her side.

Steve’s texts were the easiest to answer. The guy was _technically_ his agent. Probably. He texted him about open mics and yelled at him for shit he posted on Twitter. That was basically an agent. He had, of course, messaged him about an open mic night where some influential people were likely going to be and how if Richie cared about his career, he should sign up. Richie could have scoffed. Did Steve really think that he wouldn’t sign up for something like that? He spent no time typing out a quick response to remind him in the morning. Checking his voicemail from his mom was less easy. He put the phone on speaker and laid back.

_“Hey sweetheart, it’s Mom.”_ His mother’s voice crackled through the speaker. _“Are you doing okay? Your sister said you missed your lunch reservations and she’s kinda worried you might be sick. I hope everything is going alright. Call me later, I wanna hear about how everything has been going in LA! Make sure you call Heather back before she shows up at your door. Okay. I love you. Talk to you soon.”_

Shit.

Richie couldn’t believe that he had forgotten that it was the 15th. _Of course_ , his phone had blown up while he was online. He was a dumbass. He could, in fact, believe that he had forgotten. His memory was garbage, especially when he got focused on something. Richie was more surprised that he hadn’t been interrupted by loud banging on his front door. Heather was kinda like that but in the best way possible.

Back in High School, Richie didn’t have any idea where he wanted to go after graduation. He knew that he could get in pretty much anywhere with his grades, but he was kind of lost. Putting the decisions that would shape the rest of his life on him when he was only 16? Garbage. He hadn’t wanted to think that far ahead. It had truly felt like he _couldn’t._ Richie was just lucky he had someone to look up to. Heather, his older sister by 3 years, had gone to UCLA and lived in LA since then. She had been his favorite person growing up. All it took was one visit to her shitty apartment for Richie to fall in love with the city. His decision had gotten a helluva lot easier after that, plus his parents were more at ease with both of their children going to the opposite coast since they were both there. They had been inseparable the first two years Richie was there. Nowadays, they got lunch together every month on the 15th. As far as he knew, Heather tuned into every broadcast that she could and came to all of his comedy shows. 

Richie looked at her texts almost immediately.

_Feather[2:03pm]:_ Hey dweeb, I’m at the restaurant

 _Feather[2:15pm]:_ Are you stuck in traffic or something

 _Feather[2:20pm]:_ I’m ordering without you hurry up

 _Feather[2:30pm]:_ Don’t you get off the radio at like 1? Are you okay?? Wtf call me back 

_Feather[5:28pm]:_ If you don’t call me back by 5:45, I’m calling mom

Richie could see the third dots at the bottom of the screen and quickly started responding before she had the chance to spam him even more. 

**Richie[6:08pm]:** oh shit haha i lost track of time 

**Richie[6:08pm]:** i started playing fearscape as soon as i got home

 **Richie[6:08pm]:** managed to make some new friends so fucking bonus 

**Richie[6:09pm]:** one fo them called me dipshit on sight and wanted to fght me 

_Feather[6:09pm]:_ Of course that’s what you were doing

 _Feather[6:09pm]:_ It was your turn to pick the restaurant too, you lost your chance, it’s my turn next

 _Feather[6:10pm]:_ Someone called you a dipshit and you decided to befriend them??

 **Richie[6:12pm]:** long story lol

 **Richie[6:13pm]:** sorry about leaving u alone at lunch, i’ll pay next time 

_Feather[6:14pm]:_ You’re damn right you will! Give Milly kisses for me, dweeb <3

 **Richie[6:15pm]:** i knew u loved her more than me, will do lol

Richie was grateful that she wasn’t going to be showing up at his door. He loved his sister. He really did, but he was too elated with how his afternoon had gone to give her any attention. Eddie and Bill didn’t seem like they were going to stick around after Sector 5, but it was still nice to have other names on his friends list. The duo were pretty amazing at the game too. It was clear they had been playing for a bit. Richie wished they had had more time to talk between fights. 

Milly meowed at Richie after he had been laying in his bed for a while. Her little headbutts pulled him out of his thoughts. He gave her a scratch behind her ears and got out of his bed. Every part of him wanted nothing more than to jump back onto his computer. It was like the game was calling to him. He was fixating on it _hard_. Richie had responsibilities though. He had to feed his cat and postmate himself some food. Milly ran between his legs as he walked downstairs. The fluffy little monster was another good part of his days. She ignored him until she was hungry and cuddled close to him every night. She also treated the entire house as her castle. Richie often came home to find her flopped on the floor in one of his guest rooms. It felt stupid for him to have guest rooms. The only person who ever stayed over was Heather. 

On the off chance that he ever decided to have an after-party at his place, he chose a house with four bedrooms to rent. Richie had never had an after-party at his place. It still felt dumb. It was just extra room to fill up with whatever cool shit he found out and about. Two of the rooms were functionally guest rooms. One was his bedroom, which was the only room he ever inhabited beside his bathroom and kitchen. The last was a game room with the comfiest futon he had ever passed out drunk on. As nice as space was, it still felt suffocating at times. Richie didn’t even know how to describe it. Maybe the house was just too empty. How did it make sense to feel claustrophobic in your own house? It didn’t make sense, it wasn’t even empty. The rent was good. The parking was good. Milly liked it. Richie couldn’t picture himself moving out anytime soon. 

His mind was finally moved off of his thoughts when his food arrived. Richie grabbed the bags and ate his dinner in his bed. He was out like a light at midnight, PS4 controller rested on his lap as the credits of the movie he threw on rolled.

The next morning was easy. Richie had always been a morning person, so doing the early show was ideal. It was a solo show. All him, all the time, every day. People ate it up. It didn’t always make sense to him. Some of his jokes pushed the envelope for what was allowed on early morning radio. Richie felt like a different person when he was in the booth. The smile that spread across his face as he spewed into the microphone didn’t feel like his. The enthusiasm for the nightclub event the station was hosting that weekend didn’t feel like his. He was excited about the event too. It was the first one they were hosting in a while. It would be a good nighttime distraction after his friends inevitably logged off for the night. The curse of being hours behind everyone else. It was less of a curse when Richie got home to find message notifications on his Fearscape launcher.

He had practically thrown himself in his chair when he saw them. No one was ever home this early. Stan normally worked until 5, getting home around 6. Richie never heard from him before then. It was always a toss-up when he would. Stan seemed to be a functional adult with other activities that didn’t leave him at his computer. Richie always felt a punch of guilt about that. Maybe he was pulling Stan away from other things he would rather be doing.

Except the messages weren’t from Stan.

_GazeboEffect[9:21am]:_ Hey. Bill and I usually voice chat on discord while we play so that we can strategize better without having to type in the chat. I don’t know if you have one, but you should make one whenever you’re free. I’ll be home around 4:30 pm and can add you back then. My user is GazeboEffect #1341

Richie had already been at the station when the messages came through, but he had no idea what time zone Eddie was in. It could already be 4:30 where he was. That or Richie would have to wait 3 more hours. The latter struck a chord of actual fear in him. What if he was from LA? What if he _recognized_ his voice from the radio. It hadn’t been a secret at the beginning when he had started to play with Stan. Technically, he was famous. Just a little bit. Fame made people treat you differently. Richie didn’t want his new friends to treat him differently. 

Almost as if to ease his stress, Eddie’s name popped up as online. Three dots popped up at the bottom of the screen. Once again, Richie found himself scrambling to respond before he was spammed.

**beeptrashmoutbeep[1:37pm]:** what the hell is discord lol

 _GazeboEffect[1:38pm]:_ I should be surprised that you’re already home, but I’m really not. It’s a chat service for “gamers” It’ll run in the background while you play games & you can vc while you do

 _GazeboEffect[1:39pm]:_ I take it you don’t have one, it’s really useful! Make one and add me! Are you gonna get online today? Bill works from home, so he’s ready to go whenever

 **beeptrashmouthbeep[1:40pm]:** lucky bastard, how do i get to do that lol

 **beeptrashmouthbeep[1:40pm]:** i’ll figure this shit out and add you

Richie expected it to be a little bit harder to figure out, but it wasn’t. The service was just a quick download onto his computer. It looked like a pop up just like Spotify, which Richie also opened up. He picked out a random playlist and slid his headphones on as he waited for Discord to load up and let him create an account. He couldn’t express his excitement when it looked like the username “Trashmouth” was available. That was usually what he used on platforms. He wanted Fearscape to be a little different, just in case. At the end of signing up, Richie was Trashmouth#9885 with an icon of a terrible meme he had saved on his computer the other day from Twitter. He quickly clicked over to the Fearscape launcher to see what Eddie had been spamming him with while he was working.

_GazeboEffect[1:43pm]:_ He’s a writer. A pretty good one. He writes horror novels and he’s already been published twice. It’s wild. 

_GazeboEffect[1:45pm]:_ I could work from home if I wanted to. It’s not a difficult thing for me to request. I like going to work.

 _GazeboEffect[1:52pm]:_ Not that you don’t. I’m sure you like your job. Everyone likes being at home. It’s just more comfortable and there are usually animals, which is a big plus

 _GazeboEffect[1:55pm]:_ Unless you work with animals, but you don’t seem the type lol not sorry

 **beeptrashmouthbeep[1:56pm]:** lol and i thought i talked a lot 

**beeptrashmouthbeep[1:56pm]:** aight lemme run through all that

 **Beeptrashmouthbeep[1:58pm]:** 1.bill’s a writer? Cool, i don’t usually ahev time to read books but maybe if i ever find out his name i’ll pick one up. 2. i can’t work from home and i work early everyday same time but i get off at 1 so it’s pretty sweet 3. do u hvae animals at home? i’ll figure out how to make a gun emoji with symbols and i’ll spam u until u tell me about them 4. i don’t work with animals but my jonb is boring lol i’ll save u the bordeom 5. i made my account i’m Trashmouth#9885

 _GazeboEffect[2:00pm]:_ Cool, I sent you a friend request, I’ll answer you over there on everything else

Richie pouted a bit at that but it was easy to switch over to Discord and answer the friend request. Eddie’s icon was a screencap of his character with an angry expression. He didn’t expect any less. He seemed attached to his character’s design. Curiosity bit at Richie as he wondered what Eddie looked like. Eddie, Bill, and Stan. They were real people but Richie could only picture them as their avatars. Maybe he would get a face to match the names eventually. He got a message from Eddie almost instantly.

_GazeboEffect#1341[2:02pm]:_ I made a server so we can all chat easier and invite anyone else to. Bill & I have a friend whose a level above all of us. She might come and help at some point. That is if she ever answers my message and gets in the server. She has a friend she plays with at the same spot. They both preordered the game so they know more about it than I do. Did you preorder? I started playing 6 months ago.

Richie had also started playing 6 months ago. He was a little disappointed that he had never run into him before. Maybe they had crossed paths before now. There was a link to a server at the end of the message called “Fearscape.” It said there were 3 people online and 3 people in the server total. Richie kicked himself for not noticing that Stan was online. Another message popped up before he could hit join.

_GazeboEffect#1341[2:03pm]:_ I have a dog btw. Her name is Leia and she’s the best. 

There was a picture of a fluffy orange pomeranian on his screen. The cutest damn pomeranian that he had ever seen. She was wearing a sunflower covered bandana that looked like a shirt Richie wore often.

**Trashmouth#9885[2:04pm]:** i don’t know her but i already adore her. 

Richie finally entered the server before he got distracted by messaging Eddie further. It was a little overwhelming at first. There were three separate chats and what looked like a voice chat section. Richie had no idea how anything worked. Everyone’s name was a different color. They also all had their actual names. It appeared as if they had been talking in one of the chats for a little while, the general. It was in fact very overwhelming. Richie’s fingers hovered over his keyboard, unsure of what to even type. 

**Trashmouth[2:05pm]:** lol what’s up virgins

 _Stan[2:05pm]:_ Of course that’s what you open with

 _Bill[2:05pm]:_ Hey Richie :) Welcome

 _Eddie[2:05pm]:_ What color do you want to be?

 **Richie[2:06pm]:** color???

Richie clicked over Eddie’s name and saw that he had a role under his name that was red and called “Brawler.” A quick check showed that Bill had “Knight” in dark blue and Stan had “Support” in forest green. That’s what Eddie meant. Maybe it wasn’t as complicated as it felt right then and there. All three of them appeared to be typing at once

**Richie[2:07pm]:** wait i see now lol idk idc

Richie watched as his name turned to yellow and went to see what his role was. He couldn’t stifle his laughter when he saw that it was “dipshit.” 

“Nice one, Eds.” He muttered, smiling at his screen.

_Eddie[2:09pm]:_ We were thinking of logging on soon. If you want to join us in voice call, click the one that says gaming under that category

 **Richie[2:10pm]:** oh shit cool, lemme grab a drink and i’l hop in 

_Bill[2:10pm]:_ Ditto to that, I’ll join rn but I’ll be afk

 _Stan[2:11pm]:_ I need to let someone know I’ll be in a call, but I’ll also be in soon. 

Richie’s leg was bouncing uncontrollably under his desk. It was a lie. He had a water bottle already sitting next to his monitor. His chest felt tight at the idea of being in a call. It didn’t seem like any of them were in his time zone, but they could still recognize his voice. Richie felt like he was lost in his head as he watched each of their names start to pop into the chat. He stared into his screen, looking at each of his three friends. Stan’s icon was of some bird that Richie couldn’t identify. A bird was a bird. It wasn’t like he needed to. Bill’s icon looked like a cat meme, which seemed just as fitting as everyone else’s. It took Richie an extra minute of sitting there to finally click on the channel and join the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the mini cliff hanger lol  
> Thanks for reading <3 See you next chapter!


	3. Call Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The voice call :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Anxious tone near the beginning & anxiety at the end   
> Someone help Richie pls he's struggling
> 
> Enjoy your read!

The voice call was dead silent. Richie thought he could hear someone breathing, but it was just himself. His mind felt like it was filled to the brim with worries as time continued to pass. Maybe joining had been a mistake. No one said a word. Richie’s throat felt compressed. He _couldn’t_ be the first to speak. There was too much at stake. Thankfully, he didn’t have to. Richie stared at his screen as one of the icons lit up with green. It was by far the most gentle voice that Richie had ever heard. He was almost so distracted by the tone that he almost missed what was said. _Almost._

“I expected you guys to be louder.” Eddie’s voice chimed through his headphones. For how much of spitfire he had been during their duel, Eddie didn’t sound anything like Richie expected. Had he expected him to sound a certain way? 

“I didn’t think you would appreciate being called a virgin again, but I can change that if you really want me to.” Richie hadn’t planned on saying anything yet. He was almost surprised by his voice speaking for him. Talking was his job. It was easy, controlling his overactive mouth wasn’t.

“Nevermind. I liked the quiet.” Eddie scoffed. There wasn’t any actual annoyance in his voice. It was almost as if all the stress melted from his body. Richie kept his eyes on the chat, waiting to hear everyone’s voice so he could identify them all better.

“You sound exactly like I would have expected. It’s nice to finally talk, Richie.” Stan spoke next. His voice was even, and surprisingly not that of an old man.

“Holy shit. You don’t sound like an old man at all. I’m shocked. It’s great to finally talk to you too, Stan. Damn, we’ve only been friends for half a year. The first sign of other teammates and we break our silent bond.” Stan _laughed._ If Richie hadn’t felt comfortable before, he certainly was now. 

“You two had never sp-spoken before?” Richie hadn’t expected a stutter from Bill, but it was the least surprising part of this chat. None of them recognized his voice. It was fine. Richie was already feeling that way, thankfully.

“There wasn’t really a need. I know how Richie plays. I trust him to look out for me and I’m sure he trusts me in return.” 

“Staniel! You trust lil’ ol’ me? I’m touched. I’m swooning.” Richie leaned back in his desk chair.

“Thanks. I’ll remember that next time we get wrecked.” A chorus of multiple laughs this time. 

“Are we getting on? I’ve been sitting on the main menu since I got on the call. Not that this isn’t a touching first meeting. I just want to make it to the first town tonight.” Eddie pauses. “Plus Richie died when we left off yesterday. We have to go pick him back up.” 

“I’m loading in right now.” 

“I already logged in. Wasn’t that w-why we got into the call?”

“Oh shit. I forgot to open the game. You don’t have to come back for me. I can fast travel. Just give me a hot second to get it loaded up and I’ll be to you as soon as I’m in.” Richie scrambled to click play on Fearscape’s launcher. The silence returned for a moment. It wasn’t as deafening as before, nor did it last as long. 

“You guys might wanna hurry, actually. There’s some low level ahead on the path that’s about to get swarmed.” Eddie’s voice sounded a bit unsure. Richie’s leg bounced impatiently under his desk as he waited for the game to finally load up.

“How would a low level get to sector five? It’s kinda difficult to just end up there. Are you sure they’re actually low level?”

“They don’t look like they’ve been through Sector 4. Their level matches the recommended start of Sector 4.” Stan said. 

“That’s really weird.” Bill sounded unsure.

“There’s a section of the map where sectors 3, 4, and 5 meets. There are a few spots like that but it’s easy to get 4 and 5 confused at a glance.” Richie let out a sigh of relief as he was finally shown the main screen.

“Oh shit. They weren’t about to be swarmed. They are being swarmed. Richie, are you almost in? There’s not an easy opening to advance in.” The impatience in Eddie’s voice was heavy.

“I’m working on it. I’m still going to have to fast travel. Isn’t there anything you can do for them?” Richie got to work opening his friend’s list and initiating fast travel as soon as he was fully loaded in.

“Bill, Can you watch my back? We can advance towards them from the front and try to take some of the attention away. Rich, make your internet be faster.” Stan sighed. There were tapping noises coming through his headphones. Richie rolled his eyes, leg bouncing even more under his desk. 

“Of course, Stan. I’m unplugging my internet right now to leave this rando to die. That’s very typical of me. Oh, thank fuck.” Finally, he loaded in next to Eddie’s character. Bill and Stan were ahead, dodging capture attacks and taking aggro from the Spiders. 

“Okay okay okay. Richie. I need you to use your grappling hook at the trees above and swing over the low level. I need you to grab my character on the way over and drop me overhead.”

“Why?? How is that going to help us if you take fall damage?” Richie scoured the web for tips and tricks for Fearscape, but something like that had never come up.

“It’ll be fine. You just have to trust me. It’ll be easier to take them down if we get to the other side.”

“I trust you but I have no fucking idea what you’re trying to do. I don’t want to waste more time with you having the fast travel back from an instadeath!”

“Jesus fucking christ, Richie. I’m telling you that it’s going to be fine. I can-”

“Guys!” Bill interrupted. “Low level is in range of a capture that I can’t break. Just f-fucking do it!”

Richie took a deep breath and switched to his grappling hook. Per Eddie’s instructions, he aimed at the trees overhead and landed a hit. His character started to swing over. Richie made sure to hit the skill check-in time to grab Eddie. His character clung to Richie’s side as they swung over the small horde. When they were over the Spider that was about to grab the low level, Eddie dropped from Richie’s arms. The call was silent besides some rapid tapping noises. Eddie twisted in the air, his fists raised as he started to plummet towards the Spider. Richie almost missed the drop for his grappling hook as he watched. Eddie’s fists almost looked like they were on fire as they collided with the Spider. The stun effect appeared to be applied as Eddie flipped in front of it, blocking the path to the low level. Richie could finally see their username. Haystack.B. They fell out of the capture behind Eddie. Richie adjusts his camera so he can keep an eye on Eddie as he switches to melee. Not that Eddie needed it. He lifted his leg into a high kick that knocked the stunned Spider back before turning his attention to the next nearest enemy.

“Holy shit. You’re amazing.” Richie muttered under his breath, almost forgetting they were in a fight.

“Rich! 10 o’clock!” Bill called out into the mic. Richie heard a gentle _fuck_ spoken into the call, but he couldn’t place who it was. 

Richie turned his camera fast enough to move his character out of the way of an attack. He tapped on his keyboard as fast as he could, spamming the attack button. It was almost as if every combo he knew had flown out of his head right when he logged in. He knew them, but he’d be damned if anyone asked him to recall one. His spamming did enough to take down at least one of the Spiders. 

“We can’t get much closer without a little help. There’s an overwhelming amount of Spiders over here. If one of you can create a short opening, I can dash through and pip Haystack up from being down.” Stan didn’t even sound worried. Richie could have laughed, especially since he was definitely worried.

“Ah shit. I have them knocked back and stunned for a moment but I can’t easily drive myself through a wall of them without serious damage. Richie. I’m sorry, but you know the basic knockback bat melee combo… right?” Eddie spoke quickly, almost as panicked sounding as Richie felt. 

“Uh… Normally, yes but I can’t remember what it is right now.”

“Did you change your key binding at all since you started playing?”

“Do you just have every single fucking combo memorized? Jesus, that’s my thing. Find a new hobby, Eds.” There was a moment of silence. 

“Shut the fuck up, Richie. Triple tap the e key and then hit control when I get in front of you. I just know a couple of basic combos that work with the people I play with for situations like these where we’re stuck. Do some fucking research.”

“You might be an even bigger nerd for this game than I am. That seems like a crime. You’re a nasty crime boy now, Eddie.” Richie teased, hearing a groan through his headphones as he watched Eddie run in front of him. 

He couldn’t place exactly what it was, maybe it had been their first interaction in the game, but Richie couldn’t help but poke fun at him. Richie didn’t crack any more jokes as he tapped the combo out. It was one he used often, making it even more irritating that it wasn’t muscle memory already. He made a mental note to ask Eddie about where he got his information from. Richie had no idea you could do such complex combos with other people. The combo sent Eddie flying in the middle of two enemies. The impact caused a knockback on both of them, giving Stan the opening he needed. Richie noticed that it did actually damage Eddie, not very much. It didn’t seem like a safe combo in a tough situation. 

“Thanks, Trashmouth. Shit. Richie. Sorry. I’m used to calling people by their usernames.” Eddie’s voice was soft as he started to attack Spiders again. 

“No worries. It’s a nickname anyway.” Richie moved towards Haystack and Stan. Stan got Haystack up on their feet. They were another Support player, but Richie couldn’t identify any subclass on sight. 

“That’s your nickname? Why? Shit.” Bill muttered. Richie shifted his camera to see Bill with half health. Haystack moved away from Stan’s healing, going towards Bill with their minimal health.

“Why do I have to give up the secrets of my username when I don’t know what Eddie’s username means? Sounds like a bum fucking deal to me. Haystack is trying to get to you, Bill?? They’re Support.” Haystack stopped where the small opening had been and crouched down. Richie wasn’t able to focus on them as a Spider started to advance. They didn’t have many left to deal with, but they were still outnumbered. A strange melody that Richie hadn’t heard in the game before started to play.

“They’re a bard subclass. The music box they set down will heal at a fixed rate within its perimeter. Stay inside the lines if you need healing. Bill, haul ass over here if you can.” Stan said as he attacked a close spider from the side. Bill started to move into the circle but got caught in a capture before he could get close enough. 

“I got you, Billy boy!” Richie called out as he switched right back to his grappling hook. Out of the corner of his field of view, he saw Eddie take down another Spider. They were finally even in numbers. The switch was easy. Richie watched as he got stuck in the capture web and Bill was safely in the range of the music box. His health was steadily moving back up.

“I don’t think I can get to you fast enough. If you got down, fast travel back to Bill.” Eddie sounded a little bad about not being able to help him out.

“I’m a rescue. This is what I do. No worries. Just keep an eye out for Haystack until I can get back. Do we still have five left?”

“Four now! Thanks, Eddie. I almost got caught again.”

“Jesus dude. Move your camera around to keep an eye on your surroundings. Oh, what the fuck? Haystack is coming for you, Richie. This might be it for them. What the fuck. The other three Spiders are over here. Bill, use your shield to knock back the one on the left then rush to my side and help me keep back the other two.” Richie was surprised that he had been able to keep up with how fast Eddie was talking. 

Eddie was right, though. Haystack was running over to the Spider that had Richie by the throat with his weapon. Richie could barely make out what it was, but he could see Stan trailing behind. 

“When I go down, heal them up the rest of the way, Stan. We’re almost in the clear. I think the first town is just up ahead on the path!” Richie was spamming buttons on his keyboard to try and wiggle out of the grasp, anything to help out.

Richie watched as Haystack and Stan to attack the already damaged Spider as he got closer and closer to his imminent death. His heart was pounding in his chest. He didn’t _really_ want to have to travel back to them. It would be a hassle to get back and there was always the chance of them all getting wiped out as soon as he died. Eddie and Bill were good at the game, but people made mistakes all the time. Richie didn’t have to worry about that suddenly. Haystack got a good final hit in with their fence spike, killing the Spider just before it got Richie. The release damaged him a bit, but it was nothing compared to being close to the one-hit KO. Stan’s character crouched over Haystack’s for a moment and healed them the rest of the way up. 

“Holy shit. I can’t believe I’m still alive. I’m coming over to spot you. If either of you needs to back up, I can take your spot.” Only two Spiders were remaining. They were almost done. 

“We can handle them. Heal yourself.” Eddie practically spat out.

“I don’t... I can’t heal myself. I don’t have any healing items.”

“Why don’t you have any? That should be an essential part of your inventory?!”

“Fuck. I don’t know. Stan always has my back.” Richie ran towards where Eddie was with Stan and Haystack on his tail. His character looked a bit bloodier than usual from being damaged. Eddie killed the Spider he was on and turned his attention to Richie. A few healing items were dropped on the ground.

“Pick those up and hold onto them. You never know when you’ll need to heal yourself or a teammate.”

“That was pretty fantastic. I’m not surprised that Haystack got up here now. They’re smart. It’s clear.” Stan said. Richie picked up the items dropped by Eddie, making a mental note to never use them. Just to spite Eddie a little bit. Stan had his back! There wasn’t a moment of calm after Bill killed the last Spider for long. A new group of enemies started to descend from the trees.

“Oh for fucks s-sake.” 

“Maybe we can make a run for the town, would they follow us into it?”

“Yeah. Remember the town raids from Sector 1? If you have an enemy on you, It’ll start a town raid. We aren’t prepared for a Spider one. I don’t even know how to combat them. Every video I’ve watched has just said to avoid them. I’m healed up. Let’s just give this our best shot.”

“Richie! Behind you! Jesus fucking Christ, move your cameras around!” Richie did just that with a slight delay. He was dreading whatever was behind him, and rightfully so. 

Once again, there was a Spider _directly behind_ him about to grab him. It would have taken a miracle to get him out of it that time. Richie was lucky. A miracle was exactly what he got. Almost as if sent straight from heaven, another player dropped from the trees onto the Spider’s head. They looked almost ethereal, almost glowing. In fact, they _were_ glowing. Richie recognized the subclass instantly. The red-haired Valkyrie took down the Spider almost instantly. Richie was stunned. Had they been watching the entire time? 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Valkyrie in person before. They’re always so much higher level.” He spoke, awestruck. A sweet melody starting mixing with the in-game music, another melody that he hadn’t heard before. The Spiders surrounding them froze before running off into the trees. Before he could say anything, two dings came from the call. Two people had joined them in the call.

“Bev! Mike!” Eddie and Bill seemed to call out at the same moment. 

“Hey boys. How’s that for timing?” Her voice was sweet. She must be the friend that Eddie had mentioned earlier. Richie just wished Eddie had mentioned that she was a _fucking Valkyrie_.

“What’s a Valkyrie?” Stan asked. 

Richie watched as another player ran up next to Bev’s. He got a clear view of both of them now. QueenBev and Mikey. Bev’s character was dressed in a white floral dress and heeled boots. There was a small crown perched on her character’s head. It was fitting. She held a fence spike in her hands, except it wasn’t rusted and bloody like Haystacks. It was white with gold accents. A bonus to buying the DLC. She had some blood splatter on her face, but that was it. Mike’s character was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans with an industrial bar in one hand. There was a flute in his character’s other hand that gave Richie the answer he needed as to why the Spiders all ran off. Mike was a Defense player with a Ranger subclass. 

“It’s a preorder class. DLC if you didn’t. Uh. High risk. High reward. You become more visible but you do more damage. Like a crazy amount.” Richie managed to get out despite his awe at the higher leveled gamers. He finally pulled his focus off the game as he saw the local chat going off. “Hi. I’m Richie.”

“Oh, so you’re the one who tried to fight Eddie.” Mike laughed. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Mike.”

“Is that what I’m gonna be known for? Getting my ass beat?”

“Ignore him. I’m Stan. It’s nice to meet you too. Thanks for saving us. How long is that effect going to last? The one that got rid of all the Spiders?” Stan was asking the right questions, Richie had to give him that. 

“Should last long enough to get us into town. Did you guys rescue Haystack or are they just not in the call?” Mike asked.

“Well. It looks like they’re about to be. Got distracted by the chat. Hey. I’m Beverly. Bev to my friends. You owe me for your life, Richie.” Richie laughed.

“Damn. I’ll be sure to remember that you’re a rescue priority next time we’re in a fight.”

“I’m touched. Thanks. Are you the only Rescue here? I don’t run into them very often.” 

“Shit. I haven’t seen another Rescue since like Sector 2. Wait did you say they might be joining us? Haystack?” Richie started to look back at the local chat when Eddie started talking again. 

“His name is Ben. I might have invited him to join us. He’s _good_. He’s just a Sector behind. Apparently, he’s been doing them out of order. Is that okay with everyone? I kind of already sent him my discord user.” There was a chorus of agreement from everyone but Richie. More people meant more chances for recognition. He’s been too lucky so far.

“Hell yeah. Bring him in. I wanna know more about being a Bard.” Richie’s voice betrayed him. 

There was idle chat while everyone was waiting for Ben to join the server, and then the call. Richie couldn’t focus on anything that was being said. He thought they were having a conversation about classes and subclasses, but he couldn’t focus enough to give any input. Against his better judgment, he flicked the microphone on his headset up and sat back in his chair with his phone. There was a discord app and he wanted to make sure he had it on his phone for work the next day. Despite how nervous he was, he still wanted to talk to them all. His attention wasn’t brought back to the call until there was another ding. 

“Oh. Hi. I’m Ben. You’re all actually here. Wow.” Ben spoke softly at first but sounded more at ease after a moment. Richie’s hands were shaking too much to put his mic back down.

“Hey! It’s great to meet you. I’m Eddie, GazeboEffect, but that was already kind of obvious. Welcome! I think we’re going to try and go back to Sector 4 in a few minutes.” There were tapping sounds again. A message alert popped up on his screen.

_GazeboEffect#1314[3:13pm]:_ Hey, you’ve been quiet. Are you doing okay or are you just afk?

Well shit.

  
  


Richie took a deep, shaky breath. His leg was bouncing hard under the desk. He wasn’t really wasn’t doing okay. Every new person was another person who could recognize him. Everyone seemed to be talking amongst themselves, but it might as well have been white noise for all that he was absorbing from it. Richie couldn’t bring himself to message Eddie back. He didn’t want to worry him, even though it was clear he had. He pulled his mic back down after another deep breath.

“Hey, sorry. I had to pee. Are we going to go grind through Sector 4 for Ben or what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading <3 The next chapter has been one of my favorites to plot out so I hope you enjoy it when it's posted!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read <3 See you next chapter !


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